The importance of teacher education in coping with the challenges of the digitalization in Germany

Abstract

We live in the midst of a digital revolution. Most people are connected to the Internet, using digital devices and services at work and in many aspects of their lives. There is also no doubt that the rapid development of technology has also massively changed the field of education in the last decades. Studies show that there is an apparent need for a massive change in the conventional teaching ways in different learning environments that support the acquisition of 21st century skills where the teacher has a prominent role in the digital transformation process. Moreover, teacher education plays a vital role in the hierarchy of a successful implementation of digital media in classroom learning and teaching processes. The use of digital media in schools on the other side is attributed to technical, subject-didactic and pedagogical potential, which promotes the acquisition of technical and interdisciplinary skills. Although digital education has become more critical over the last years in Germany, barely any progress has been made in the field of teachers` digital competency. This article will sharpen the view about conceptualizing digitalization as an emerging process in the teaching profession by embedding it in the interdisciplinary discourse. The ambiguity of the digitalization concept will also be cleared. In the interdisciplinary overview, a heuristic is offered that sheds light on the cross-phase cooperation in the teaching profession concerning digitalization related to the German teacher training that puts perspectives, conditions and processes at the forefront for its success.